South Africa

Brief Overview

Currently there are no specific regulations or bans on e-cigarettes, although that may change drastically very soon. We highly recommend registering for updates for South Africa.

Mark van der Heever, spokesperson for the Western Cape Department of Health, says that as e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco, they can’t be read into the definition of ‘tobacco products’ in terms of the Tobacco Control Act, which provides South Africa with one of the world’s tightest set of smoking laws.

On the other side, South Africa’s Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, is keen to increase smoking legislation to incorporate e-cigarettes. According to an interview he gave on World No Tobacco Day last year, he believes that e-cigarettes should be treated the say way as normal tobacco cigarettes.

Until new laws are released and enforced, vaping in public spaces, such as malls and restaurants, is left to the discretion of the owners of such establishments. The same applies to companies, and how they choose to police their staff. Please check with each venue before using your devices.

Register for updates below as more information should be available shortly.

All Laws & Regulations

Please register for updates below as more information will be available from the embassy shortly.